Manchester Man Arrested In Connection With Violent Altercation At U.S.-Canada Border

BANGOR, MAINE — A Manchester man with a local police history was arrested last Friday and charged by a federal criminal complaint with assaulting a federal officer and failing to report his arrival and present himself for inspection at the U.S.-Canada border on Feb. 22.

A copy of the federal complaint was provided to Patch by federal officials Tuesday.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Devin Austin Bishop, 29, drove at high speed across the bridge from Campobello Island, Canada, into the U.S., at one point veering into the outbound lane to travel into Lubec, Maine.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations officer who was on duty at the Lubec Port of Entry pursued Bishop in an agency vehicle, according to the federal criminal complaint.

During the pursuit, Bishop exited his car on a road in Lubec and "forcibly assaulted" and resisted the officer when the officer attempted to arrest him, at one point grabbing for the officer's firearm, according to the federal criminal complaint

During the struggle, the gun discharged, but no one was hit, according to the federal criminal complaint.

According to the criminal complaint, Bishop was yelling incoherently and seemed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The officer was eventually able to take Bishop into custody with the assistance of a passing motorist, who was believed to be a corrections officer, according to the federal criminal complaint. Bishop was subdued, in part, with pepper spray, authorities said.

If convicted, Bishop faces up to eight years in prison on the assault charge and one year in prison on the failure to report charge.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He had initially been transported to an area hospital for "observation," according to the criminal complaint.

Just about seven years to the day of the border patrol arrest, Bishop was arrested after a drunken driving incident in Vernon.

It was 12:55 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2019, when Vernon officers went to the 7-Eleven at 903 Turnpike for a medical issue. Police were told a man was passed out in a Nissan sedan in the parking lot, according to a report. The operator, identified as the then 22-year-old Bishop, was sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running, according to a report.

He failed sobriety tests, police said.

Police also found "numerous" Xanax pills on him, for which he had no prescription, according to a report.

He was charged with possessing a controlled substance and driving under the influence, according to a report.